Trae Young is no longer an Atlanta Hawk. That’s the end of an era right there!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Muggsy Bogues, Michael Beasley, Zeke Nnaji, Caleb Houstan, and Luka Šamanić! 🎉

Game Recaps

Wolves catch fire from deep, overwhelm Cavs in statement 131-122 win

When this Minnesota team is hot, they can really play.

With all four of Anthony Edwards (25 PTS, 9 AST, 7 REB), Julius Randle (28 PTS, 11 REB, 8 AST), Donte DiVincenzo (22 PTS, 6-10 3PT), and Jaden McDaniels (26 PTS) going off against Cleveland, the Wolves shot 53% from three and fought their way to an impressive win over the Cavs.

Cleveland jumped out to a lead in the second quarter and went into halftime up 67-63, but Minnesota turned on the jets after the break and outscored the Cavs 43-22 in the third quarter to set themselves up to cruise to a win in the final period. Donovan Mitchell (30 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB) had an all-around great game despite some shooting inconsistencies, and the rest of the Cavs’ starting five had solid games on offense, but they just couldn’t catch up to Minnesota’s pace.

It’s the fourth straight win for the Wolves, who now sit at fourth place in the crowded West behind Denver and San Antonio in the race to catch the elusive top-seeded Thunder. Don’t count out the North!

Paolo hits bank-shot game-winning three, lifts Magic to 104-103 win over Brooklyn

Even on a night defined by missed shots and short-handed rotations, the Magic found a way to steal one at the horn.

Paolo Banchero (30 PTS, 14 REB, 6 AST) drilled a buzzer-beating three to lift Orlando past the Nets in a chaotic finish at the Barclays Center. Banchero had carried the offensive load throughout the game, repeatedly creating offense late as the score tightened, but Orlando generally leaned heavily on its starters with Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs sidelined, getting complementary scoring from Wendell Carter Jr. (20 PTS, 6 REB) and Tristan da Silva (14 PTS) to stay within striking distance despite uneven guard play.

Brooklyn looked poised to escape with a win after a barrage of perimeter shooting in the second half led by Michael Porter Jr., who poured in 34 points on 8 made threes. The Nets briefly seized control late in the fourth behind timely shot-making from Egor Demin (18 PTS, five threes) and a defense that forced Orlando into difficult looks, but they just couldn’t put the game away.

Enter Banchero, who got the ball from Anthony Black (5 PTS, 6 AST) on an inbound with two seconds to go and banked a game-winning three in with his toe as close to the line as humanly possible. Take a look at the top-down video review from the Barclays Center—Nets fans, we’re guessing this wasn’t around for Kevin Durant back in 2021?

Elsewhere around the NBA:

• Even a 38-point triple-double from Luka Doncic wasn’t enough to overcome the Lakers’ LeBron-less-ness. The Spurs lived and died with their second unit, with Keldon Johnson delivering a team-leadingly efficient performance (27 PTS, 6 REB, 11-13 FG) off the bench alongside Victor Wembanyama (16 PTS, 14 REB, 4 BLK), who played just 26 minutes. Spurs win, 107-91.

• Congratulations to Rick Carlisle on his 1,000th career win! The Pacers helped him hit the mark against Charlotte last night by eking out a 114-112 win over the Hornets after leading virtually wire-to-wire. With LaMelo Ball (33 PTS, 8 AST) leading the Hornets, Pascal Siakam (30 PTS, 14 REB) led the way for Indiana—he hit the layup to put the Pacers up for good with 12 seconds left.

• Detroit beat Chicago 108-93 behind a career-high night from Isaiah Stewart, who poured in 31 PTS on 14-17 shooting and added a few rebounds and blocks in 30 minutes played. A back-and-forth affair where no team had more than a seven-point lead until the fourth quarter, the Pistons were able to pull away despite solid shooting from Ayo Dosunmu (24 PTS) in the second half.

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (46 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) and the Thunder survived an OT battle against the Jazz at home, coming away with the 129-125 win after Lauri Markkanen (29 PTS, 13 REB) led Utah on an impressive second-half comeback that briefly gave Utah the lead in the fourth quarter before SGA forced overtime.

🔄 Trae Young to Wizards

The first major domino of the 2026 trade season has fallen!

• Washington Wizards receive Trae Young

• Atlanta Hawks receive CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert

Preceded by one of the craziest draft-night trades in NBA history, Trae Young’s eight seasons in Atlanta have now come to a close. After four All-Star appearances, an All-NBA Third Team nod in 2022, and multiple double-digit assist seasons (including a league-leading average of 11.6 last year), Trae is moving on to his next destination and leaving behind a core that includes Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels, Onyeka Okongwu, Zaccharie Risacher, and more recent additions Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kristaps Porzingis.

The Hawks have already shown their ability to win games without Trae Young, most recently in the three-week period since the guard last suited up in late December, during which the Hawks took down both Minnesota and New York in comfortable back-to-back wins. Fans would have loved to see some draft capital kicked back to Atlanta in exchange, but given that Young has a player option for 2026-27 and could be an unrestricted free agent sooner rather than later, the idea of him leaving for a third destination within a year lowered the price Washington had to pay.

Speaking of Washington, they’re now looking at Trae alongside top players Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, and Alex Sarr as they continue to develop other young prospects on their roster like Will Riley. The Wizards are currently 10-26 (14th in the East), and they only own their 2026 first-round pick if it lands in the top 8, a restriction stemming from the 2020 Westbrook/Wall trade.

Trade Season: Who’s Next?

That’s not all, folks! Trae Young isn’t the only name that’s been thrown around in trade discussions leading up to the Feb. 5th deadline.

• Kawhi Leonard could find his way out of Los Angeles, taking his injury history and massive contract with him away from a Clippers team that could use a fresh start.

• The Mavericks’ front-office chaos has left Anthony Davis in limbo; contending teams are becoming more interested as the probability of an AD extension in Dallas wanes.

• Golden State appeared ready to cash in on Jonathan Kuminga earlier this year, and after years of talk about “potential” and inconsistent minutes, he might finally be destined for a change of scenery.

• Just a liiiittle too good to be rebuilding, the Jazz could open the door for Lauri Markkanen to be dealt despite his three-level scoring and the $50M price tag attached to it.

• The Hornets may decide that it’s time for LaMelo Ball to give way to Knueppel as their main focal point going forward, leaving Ball with little choice but to make a trade request.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

Happy Friday! BTW, if you’ve used your referral link (at the bottom of Enjoy Basketball newsletters) to share this newsletter with a friend, we’ll see you for Out Of Bounds—our biweekly newsletter on the business and culture of the game—this Sunday afternoon, exclusively for those with referrals. If not, we’ll see you like normal on Monday. Peace! ✌️

Austin Zeglis